Also known as the Vreneli, the 20 Swiss Franc gold coin is popular with investors and collectors alike. Here are our top 5 things to remember about this mythical coin.

One coin, two names

Even today, there is still no certainty as to why the 20 Swiss franc coin was given the name Vreneli. The most obvious and well-known explanation is that the representation of Helvetia, similar to the French "Marianne" or the American "Miss Liberty", looks more like a young woman on this coin, called Vreneli ("little Verena"), than a "Mother of the Nation".

58.8 million Swiss 20 franc coins

Production began in 1897 and ended in 193. Subsequently, reissues in the years L1935, 1947 and 1949 were issued to supply the gold market from 1945 to 1949.

Today, there are more than 58.8 million Vreneli 20 franc gold coins in circulation.

The Swiss 20 franc coin, twin of the 20 franc Napoleon

In terms of size and weight, the 20 franc Vreneli is very similar to the French Napoleon. It measures 21mm in diameter and contains 6.4516g of gold. It is therefore an ideal investment as a safe haven.

It was part of the Latin Monetary Union

The Latin Union was launched in 1865 by France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. These countries were joined 3 years later by Greece.

Stopped in 1927, it was in a way the ancestor of the euro zone. Indeed, the Latin Union consisted in developing a common monetary organisation between the signatory countries based on gold/silver bimetallism.

It included the Napoleon 20 franc (France), the Leopold I 20 franc (Belgium), the Victor-Emmanuel II 20 lira (Italy), the George I 20 drachma (Greece) and the Vreneli 20 franc. In addition to the five Member States, other States participated via a bilateral agreement (Spain, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Finland, Crete, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Romania) or via a unilateral alignment (Bulgaria, Argentina, Venezuela, Haiti, Luxembourg, Dominican Republic, Serbia, Peru, Danish West Indies).

More than €300 for a 20 Swiss franc coin

Naturally, the price of the 20 franc Vreneli varies constantly. Since it is a gold coin, the price of the coin varies according to the price of the precious metal.

As the price of gold has risen since 2019, the same trend can be seen in the value of the Swiss 20 franc gold coin. During this period, its value has risen from around €200 to over €300, with a peak of €365 at the beginning of March 2022.

Its price has therefore risen by more than 50% over this period. The COVID 19 health crisis and the war in Ukraine are not unrelated to this rise. Such events tend to encourage investment in safe havens.